The man responsible for the phenomenal turnaround of tourism and sports, Vishal Dev stepped into a new avatar. As the finance secretary, he was anchoring the expectations of over 40 million people of Odisha who have consistently voted a pro-poor and people-centric government to power in poll after poll. And, in his massive maiden Budget exercise, Vishal Dev has dished out the best for all on a platter. The Rs 2.3 lakh crore Budget presented by Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari has fulfilled the expectations of myriad sections of the state’s population. It has done the tightrope walk between reforms and pro-poor development. Though the last full-fledged Budget before the impending elections of 2024, the Budget steers free of fiscal profligacy, doesn’t reek of populism and seamlessly balances people’s aspirations with the state’s ambitions.
Presenting Odisha’s Annual Budget 2023-2024
The state has made tremendous progress in recent years, elevating the aspirations of our people and achieving unprecedented growth. Despite once being counted among the most underdeveloped regions, Odisha now leads the country in numerous sectors.
The Budget has allocated a significant portion of the funds towards the health sector. A generous sum of ₹16,048 crore was set aside, representing a 27% increase from the previous year and three times the allocation made in the 2017-18 Budget. This investment reflects the commitment to improving the health and well-being of our citizens.
The Budget has allocated a princely sum of Rs 750 crore towards the transformative mission of 147 health facilities. These include the hallowed halls of community health centres, sub-divisional hospitals, and district headquarters.
Furthermore, to shorten the average response time of our noble ambulances from 30 minutes to a mere 20, we shall procure 236 new ambulances.
In a heartening development for farmers and the agricultural sector, the Budget hath allocated a staggering sum of Rs. 24,829 crore. This represents a noteworthy rise of 20% from the previous year’s Budget, a testament to our unwavering support for the backbone of our great nation. Notably, it has provisioned a sum of Rs. 2,000 crore for a revolving fund to be utilized in paddy procurement operations. These operations have become a rallying cry for the aggrieved farmers of western Odisha, an area of great political significance.
For infrastructure in roads, bridges, railways and airports ₹51,683 crore has been provisioned, which is 34% higher than last year’s provision and includes ₹4,600 crore for double-laning of about 3000 km of roads with improved riding quality.
Further, ₹1,900 crore for 526 new bridge projects under the Biju Setu Yojana and ₹2,071 crore for 6000 km of roads under the Mukhyamantri Sadak Yojana were allocated. Besides, money has been allocated for the development of railway projects, viability gap funding subsidy under the UDAN Scheme for connecting smaller airports of Jharsuguda, Jeypore and upcoming state airports at Utkela, Rangeilunda and Malkangiri.
The State government has proposed a new scheme- ‘Mukhya Mantri Medhabi Chhatrabruti Yojana’ to be implemented for the meritorious students in the State. Around 10,000 eligible undergraduate (UG) students will get an amount of Rs 10,000 per annum under the scheme.
Similarly, 5000 eligible PG students will get scholarship of Rs 15,000 per annum. Around 10,000 eligible Technical and Professional students will get a scholarship of Rs 20,000 per annum under the new scheme.
A Budget that packs many goodies and has raised the bar on people-centric governance.